ADMIE states that the electrical interconnection of Crete with mainland Greece is expected to secure €5 billion in savings by 2035 due to the reduction of PSO charges—an amount that highlights the significant economic impact of the project on the national economy.

In its information note, ADMIE adds:

“Based on historical data from the operator of the Special PSO Account during the operation of the Crete–Peloponnese interconnection, as well as estimates grounded in reasonable assumptions for the coming decade, the benefit for all consumers from PSO savings will amount to €400–600 million each year.

This benefit results from the estimated total cost of powering Crete—ranging between €480 million and €660 million annually, and increasing every year mainly due to rising demand—if the island had remained non-interconnected. It is noted that the estimated cost of maintaining the necessary backup electricity generation capacity for emergencies (‘cold reserve’), assessed at €40–60 million annually through 2035, has been deducted from these calculations.

As a result, over a ten-year horizon, PSO savings will be on average 4.5 times higher than the System Usage Charges.

Beyond the economic benefit, the implementation of this critical energy infrastructure by ADMIE and its subsidiary Ariadne Interconnection has a positive impact on the local community of Crete due to the shutdown of oil-fired and polluting power plants that previously supplied the island. This means that the project’s environmental footprint is particularly significant, reducing CO₂ emissions by 500,000 tons annually and eliminating air pollutants associated with local electricity generation.

It is recalled that the savings generated in PSO charges from the Crete–Peloponnese and Northern Cyclades interconnections made it possible to reduce electricity bills for all consumers nationwide, in the form of subsidies, during the energy crisis.

In the coming months, the interconnections of the Western Cyclades (Santorini, Folegandros, Milos, Serifos) will also be completed. Next will follow the electrical interconnection projects that will permanently shut down old and polluting local power plants in the Dodecanese (Kos, Rhodes, Karpathos) and the North Aegean (Lemnos, Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Skyros), bringing additional benefits worth hundreds of millions of euros from reduced PSO charges.”